All People Matter

Friendship Between Lou Grant And Ted Baxter

I watched a Mary Tyler Moore Show rerun yesterday. In this episode, Lou Grant needed an operation to have a piece of World War II shrapnel removed. While in the hospital, Lou is visited by bumbling anchorman Ted Baxter.

Lou is shocked when cheapskate Ted brings a top-notch bottle of scotch. Ted says he considers Lou to be his best friend despite all the times Lou has yelled at Ted in the newsroom. Lou was touched and allowed Ted to read to him in order to pass the time recuperating in the hospital.

I teared up watching this. (I have a lot of vowels in my last name and my father told me that this can be a sign that a person is prone to emotion.) It is true that the most unlikely relationships can take root. You never know who might be a friend. You should be very hesitant to close the door on anybody. Life is short and brutal and you need all the friends you can get.